Broadside, “Storyteller”

RVA pop-punkers Broadside return with a new video that’s gotten a lot of buzz online since it was released earlier this week. “Storyteller” is a new song, the first followup to last year’s debut full-length, Far From Home, and it works as a catchy preview of whatever their next release ends up being.
RVA pop-punkers Broadside return with a new video that’s gotten a lot of buzz online since it was released earlier this week. “Storyteller” is a new song, the first followup to last year’s debut full-length, Far From Home, and it works as a catchy preview of whatever their next release ends up being. New singer Ollie has a bit more of a rough edge to his vocals than their previous singer, and the way his voice mixes with the song’s hardcore touches reminds me of Fall Out Boy circa Take This To Your Grave (i.e. back when they were good), along with some hints of Four Year Strong and Set Your Goals–that whole “easycore” (fake genre alert) thing. On a purely musical level, this video piques my interest for the next Broadside release, for sure.

The video itself, which was directed by Laura Murray, tells a story about the relationship described in the lyrics. “Storyteller” is a song about trying to hold onto a relationship after the honeymoon is over, when things get difficult and you have to face the fact that the difficulties are at least partly your own fault. As Ollie sings about trying to decide whether to quit on love or keep trying to make it work, we watch scenes of a happy couple (played by Ollie and a gorgeous tattooed emo girl) meeting, falling in love, spending time together, then starting to fight and get frustrated with each other. The intense argument between the two lovers occurs at the precise moment when the song’s climactic half-speed breakdown hits, which is a nice directorial touch. For a song with such an upbeat sound, though, the video turns out to be kind of depressing at the end. That tends to be the way of things with pop-punk, though, so I guess it’s appropriate.